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Talk:Fred the Wonder Horse
Proud to be a Cow I was just watching a clip of this song on youtube, and I think Fred was being performed by someone else. He definitely didn't have the same voice he normally had, and I don't think it was Jerry Nelson at all. The voice sounds familiar, but I can't lay a finger on it. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhjXqFk8nQI&feature=related Someone watch and tell me if I'm right. Garrettk41 17:41, 1 June 2009 (UTC) :Sounds like Marty Robinson to me. —Scott (talk) 17:59, 1 June 2009 (UTC) ::I don't think so. He's the one voicing Buster. But Fred has a line at the beginning that sounds different from usual. Garrettk41 18:09, 1 June 2009 (UTC) :::It doesn't sound like any performer I'm familiar with. I've read that Ed Christie used to perform characters in the 1980s; could this be him? -- MuppetDude 18:13, 1 June 2009 (UTC) ::::I would say it's Noel MacNeal. It does sound a little like him, and he did just begin performing around this time (circa 1983). Incedentally, this talk page has been in the pits for sometime. So, I might as well put it under stumped. -- Jon (talk) 22:19, February 17, 2011 (UTC) :::::Noel? Well, I'm not throwing out that idea completely, but I'm dubious. I don't generally hear him using voices like that. I will say this, though: I'll bet you anything that whoever voices Fred there is the same guy who does Forgetful Jones's Uncle Ned. Garrettk41 22:58, February 17, 2011 (UTC) ::::::I know this is just going by ear and speculation, but I wonder if maybe Michael Earl did it. The song's copyright date is 1981, the year Michael Earl left the show. --Minor muppetz 01:45, February 18, 2011 (UTC) Doesn't seem too likely. When Micheal Earl left, they needed another Snuffy: hence Marty. On the other hand, you're completely right on the mark, Garrett. I'm not completely positive it's Noel, but if it is, it'd be one of his earliest performances. Come to think of it, there's also a similar voice heard in the tale of "The King Who Ate Only Chicken" (Y'know, the Pumpkin fellow). -- Jon (talk) 04:50, February 18, 2011 (UTC) :Not to get off-topic here, but it is widely sourced that Martin Robinson joined the show in 1980, while Michael Earl left in 1981. So they both would have been performing at the same time, before Marty performed Snuffy. --Minor muppetz 13:57, February 18, 2011 (UTC) ::True; It's definitely possible Marty was puppeteering on SS at the same time as Micheal, though it might have been just right-handing. I still doubt it's Micheal, since it doesn't sound like any of his other roles. Though, I'm also beginning to doubt it's Noel also. According to Noel himself, his first Muppet role was the first store clerk in this sketch, which doesn't sound like any of the characters mentioned already. I personally think Tony was closest by saying it was Ed Christie. If you listen to the interviews featured on his page and do a comparison with these videos, they do sound similar. -- Jon (talk) 21:02, February 22, 2011 (UTC) :::After nearly five years, we still haven't solved this mystery. I'd like to say though, that I've contacted both Noel MacNeal and Michael Earl Davis and asked them about it. And they both deny having been Fred in that song. Does anyone know if it's possible to contact Ed Christie online and ask him about it?--Garrettk41 (talk) 21:37, March 29, 2014 (UTC) :::Good news, folks. The mystery is solved. I found a way to contact Ed Christie and I asked him about this long lasting puzzlement, and he confirms that he was indeed Fred in Proud to be Cow. Garrettk41 (talk) 02:21, February 9, 2015 (UTC)